SEOUL: Cold weather performance, slow charging and range anxiety took centre stage at South Korea’s biggest battery industry gathering.
The issues are major sources of concern for prospective electric vehicle (EV) buyers and even risk hindering the widespread adoption of cleaner, greener cars.
Recent cold snaps across the northern hemisphere show the challenges: Tesla owners in Chicago waited for hours at Supercharger stations as vehicles took longer than normal to charge, while some drivers in China were forced to push their EVs for miles after their batteries ran out in snowy, frigid conditions.
SK On Co, the battery supplier for Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai Motor Co, is tackling the problem with its Winter Pro lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery.
EVs with LFP batteries typically lose up to 70% of their driving range when temperatures drop as low as minus 20 degrees Celcius. The new battery extends charging capacity by 16% and enhances energy density by 19%.
The company also has an upgrade for its SF Battery, first introduced in EVs in 2021 and able to reach 80% charge in 18 minutes.
The latest iteration, the SF+ Battery, can achieve the feat in just 15 minutes.
SK On is already in talks with carmakers to supply both the faster-charging and better-in-winter batteries, according to Youngmoon Riew, vice-president for commercial planning.
“There are a lot of concerns among potential consumers over charging, especially about fast-charging,” Riew said in an interview at last week’s InterBattery exhibition.
“At the same time, carmakers want to release cheaper EVs, calling for cheaper batteries too, like LFP cells, to increase the adoption of EVs.”
While LFPs are cheaper than other battery chemistries, they have a shorter driving range per charge – a major problem for people living in places without comprehensive charging infrastructure.
That sparked development of alternatives, particularly solid-state batteries, which charge faster, hold more energy, are smaller and are less likely to cause fires than their LFP counterparts.
Samsung SDI Co, which is partnering with both Stellantis NV and General Motors Co to build battery plants in the United States, unveiled its schedule for commercialising an all-solid-state battery.
That includes a target to start mass production as early as 2027, with the release of samples before then, according to chief executive officer Yoonho Choi.
“There should be a jump in battery technology for expansion of EVs as the technologies for lithium-ion batteries, especially for materials, are almost saturated,” said Stella Go, executive vice-president at Samsung SDI.
“We are trying to lead in new technologies.”
The company is targeting a nine-minute battery charge by 2026 and a 20-year lifespan by 2029, she said.
There was no escaping geopolitics at the Seoul show. Tensions continue to ripple through the EV industry as relations between the United States and China fray.
Just like last year, about a dozen US government officials met with South Korean battery makers to discuss building plants that comply with the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to address China’s dominance of the global supply chain. Europe is also trying to shift away from its reliance on China.
Labour has emerged as a potential bottleneck to those plans. Recruiting trained, high-quality workers for American and European battery plants has long been a key concern. — Bloomberg